Is the Top of Page Video an Ad?

1. 68

   eugbugposted 3 years ago

   The one that appears after the 20 to 30 second video ad? If it isn't, how come there's no close button unless a viewer moves their cursor over it or taps on it? The ad has an "X", so wouldn't it make sense to give the site video one too, so a reader has the choice to view or close it, and not back out of the page?

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      bravewarriorposted 3 years agoin reply to this

      I agree with you, Eugene. The ads that pop up on most other sites I visit have the capability to X them out. It's annoying when ads follow you or pop up as you're trying to read. It's akin to interrupting someone who's speaking.

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      1. 96

         MizBejabbersposted 3 years agoin reply to this

         That is a good analogy. I despise the interruptions when I'm trying to read someone's good article. I read very little on HP now. There are two or three writers whom I faithfully follow. Sometimes I will look at another I find in the feed if they look interesting. HP is doing itself in, I'm afraid.

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      Kenna McHughposted 3 years agoin reply to this

      The videos are embarrassing. They should have and "x" out as a courtesy.

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         bravewarriorposted 3 years agoin reply to this

         Absolutely!

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   3. STAFF

      HubPagesposted 3 years agoin reply to this

      Hi there. If you start to scroll down, the video will "park and float" in a smaller portion of your screen. You should see an "X" appear on this version. If you have an example of an article where this is not the case, please send us a link!

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      1. 68

         eugbugposted 3 years agoin reply to this

         On two articles I tried, this doesn't happen when I scroll down. For instance this one:
         https://dengarden.com/security/How-Do-I … m-Top-Tips
         
         
         
         
         I've checked a couple of others and the same thing happens. There's also a massive delay of maybe 15 seconds loading images when an article is loaded and also when viewing thumbnails in the categories on a site.

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      2. 69

         Shesabutterflyposted 3 years agoin reply to this

         I use a Chromebook and have never seen an "X" appear on the HP videos across any niche site I visit unless I hover my cursor over it. The 30 second ads show an X and it closes the whole thing, but if the HP video starts first (which is at least half the time) I don't see an X right away. Nor does the video show an X if I watch the whole ad first.
         
         Is there a reason all the sites don't have the nice lower side placement of the ad/video like RemedyGrove? Is that a test placement?

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2. 68

   eugbugposted 3 years ago

   I wish they'd do an experiment for a week or two and turn off the video and/or ad and see how it affects revenue/traffic.

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      Kyler J Falkposted 3 years agoin reply to this

      HubPages staff claim that this time where they utilize the videos, versus the time they did not shows a significant increase in whatever it is they are looking for. "They have been shown to do well," are the exact words given by Samantha when she was still around to placate the masses.
      
      I find them off-putting, but as we have no choice in the matter according to staff, I have come to stop caring in any way worth griping about.

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      chef-de-jourposted 3 years agoin reply to this

      Now would be a good time to take stock I should think now that the updates hopefully have done their worst. Those in the know will need to sit down and assess the weaknesses and strengths, adjusting accordingly. I'm not happy with these videos but do recall the staff saying they are overall a positive thing to have. Perhaps the latest Google show has altered the thinking somewhat?

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         eugbugposted 3 years agoin reply to this

         Agreed. Does Google see them as giving a "bad page experience"  and does that negate the "They have been shown to do well" benefit? Also I think Samantha mentioned something about videos being part of the template and can't be turned off. If pages can be modified to allow comments, why can't they be modified not to show videos? In the meantime I think there should be at least a method of allowing users to close them, rather than having them try to figure it out which is an annoying piss off.

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            PaulGoodman67posted 3 years agoin reply to this

            I think that it's important to remember that a site like this is like an iceberg, the writers/readers only experience a small amount of the entire thing.
            
            While it's tempting to think that a problem may fall within the small part that you experience, that's not necessarily the case.
            
            It's very easy for HP to get data for how visitors react to the videos, so I personally assume that they've done that. It would be very amateurish indeed if they didn't, so I tend to rule that out.
            
            In the past, many of the algo issues have fallen into two categories:
            
            1. Content. Spammy or low quality in Google's eyes. They've also done a lot against Amazon.
            
            2. There've been other issues relating to what and what not material that Google gets to see. I presume that HP putting stuff in hubpages.com and Discover is a way of sectioning off low quality work so that Google doesn't see it. That may not work as intended. They've had problems like that before, where dirty laundry has been seen.
            
            That's my completely amateurish speculation anyway. My knowledge is very limited. But I'm not convinced by the video explanation. If that was an issue it would have been picked up yonks ago. In fact, they wouldn't even have introduced it without testing, I believe.

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               AliciaCposted 3 years agoin reply to this

               While articles can always be edited and improved, not all articles currently on Discover and HubPages are of low quality.

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                  PaulGoodman67posted 3 years agoin reply to this

                  Alicia - the quality of the work on Discover (and to a lesser extent hubpages.com) is of variable quality, ranging from out and out crap to fairly reasonable, or good but just not suitable for the niches,
                  
                  However, what I am really talking about in this context is the reason why the site is structured as it is. They can't vet everything manually immediately, so there has to be a place where stuff gets put that hasn't been cleared. Some of it may turn out to be okay, but Discover is mainly intended as a way of hiding (potentially) iffy material from Google, temporarily or permanently, as far as I can tell.

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                     AliciaCposted 3 years agoin reply to this

                     I understand, Paul. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

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            2. 69

               Shesabutterflyposted 3 years agoin reply to this

               I know Samantha has said on multiple occassions it is a part of the page set up/template, but I believe they can turn them off if they really wanted to. Unless it is a glitch on my computer (which I highly doubt as there does not appear to be any indication of a blank space or failing to load ad on the top), Feltmagnet and Skyaboveus still do not have a video/ad at the top of their pages. They have created multiple content for other sites, yet these two don't even have one? I don't have content on other niches with missing videos, so I don't know if these are the only two or not.
               
               When these niche pages were first created they did not have the videos. Tatring I believe had it first, because they were testing it out, but almost all this content has been created after the sites had been around for awhile.
               
               I'm assuming this means they have tested the video/ad in some way, but I don't know what those tests would have been. What does perform well mean? It is keeping people on the pages longer? I believe this is what Samantha said they were for. More ad clicks? I know the plan was for reader engagement, but what does that mean? The ad is so big and intrusive if we are measuring clicks it's not hard to believe that they would be doing well. Hard to not click an ad that invasive and hard to close.
               
               If the videos do perferm well in other ways, why do these two niches not have one? I don't believe for a second that Letterpile performs better than those two sites and that one has a video.
               
               I would love more transparency with the videos, but I honestly don't think we will get that. All we have is speculation and what we are observing with our own traffic trends.

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               NateB11posted 3 years agoin reply to this

               I agree with you that the company definitely would be testing these things out; it's a website that's survived for more than a decade and was founded by those experienced with technology and the Web. They don't do anything without testing and don't do anything unless it's for the benefit of the site.

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                  PaulGoodman67posted 3 years agoin reply to this

                  And if the videos turn out to be problematic, they will just change them. I'm sure they are monitoring the situation more closely than hubbers and have data.
                  
                  The situation is constantly changing anyway, because Google keeps changing its algo.

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                     NateB11posted 3 years agoin reply to this

                     I remember when Google only allowed a few ads on a page and none above the fold. Now they allow more ads and all I see on the Net are ads above the fold. So Google certainly does change things constantly.

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   3. STAFF

      HubPagesposted 3 years agoin reply to this

      We are very diligent about testing various approaches, and the video program is no exception. We may have more news soon, but in the meantime, please rest assured that we take all changes to the platform very seriously and don't make those decisions lightly.

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3. STAFF

   HubPagesposted 3 years ago

   I'm still seeing the X. What kind of device are you using? And what browser? If I have more details, I can check in with the engineering team about why you might not be seeing the right thing on your end.

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      eugbugposted 3 years agoin reply to this

      Chrome on a Motorola Moto G5. The "x" only appears at the beginning on the ad that precedes the video.The same thing happen in Firefox. However on the two articles I checked using Firefox, something different occurs. The videos don't autoplay and the play button has to be pressed after which a 10 to 30 second ad appears followed by the site video. If the play button isn't pressed, the video doesn't stay on screen while scrolling down, but it's still there when I scroll up to the top again.

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4. 77

   theraggededgeposted 3 years ago

   I've just gone into one of my articles (I tend not to, much) and HubPages have added a video at the top, specifically for the article. It's really nice. It has text overlays from the article and everything.
   
   https://exemplore.com/fortune-divinatio … ying-Cards

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      EricDockettposted 3 years agoin reply to this

      I like this. I was at first concerned that a video on the same topic would mean readers never looked at your article, but it appears they gave just some basic points and encouraged people to read for more info. As long as the info in the video is accurate I think this is a great idea.
      
      Did you get any notification that they added this or did you kind of stumble upon it?
      
      I wonder if this video is appearing on any of your other related tarot articles.

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         theraggededgeposted 3 years agoin reply to this

         Have checked a few--that's the only one.
         
         And, no notification, I have no idea when they did it.

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   2. 86

      bravewarriorposted 3 years agoin reply to this

      That's really cool, Bev. That makes the video relatable and non-invasive.

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5. 68

   eugbugposted 3 years ago

   I like the one they made for me too. Now I feel guilty moaning about them. It's just that I think a reader should have the choice to view the video or close it. The close "x" isn't visible on desktop until the mouse cursor is moved, so possibly on a mobile device the video has to be tapped for it to appear. I haven't checked this.

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